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Bizarre ‘megaturtle’ seen on the surface of the sun in pictures from ALMA telescope

THESE stunning pictures reveal stunning details of our Sun, including a mysterious dark sunspot nearly twice the size of Earth.

But eagle-eyed stargazers have pointed out the solar hole looks like a mega turtle that's swimming across the surface.

This ALMA image of an enormous sunspot looks like a mega turtle swimming across the surface of the sun
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This ALMA image of an enormous sunspot looks like a mega turtle swimming across the surface of the sun
This image of the entire Sun was taken in the red visible light emitted by iron atoms in the Sun’s atmosphere. Light at this wavelength originates from the visible solar surface, the photosphere
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This image of the entire Sun was taken in the red visible light emitted by iron atoms in the Sun’s atmosphere. Light at this wavelength originates from the visible solar surface, the photosphereCredit: NASA
A map of the whole disc of the Sun was also made with a single ALMA antenna, using a technique called fast-scanning, at a wavelength of 1.25 millimetres
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A map of the whole disc of the Sun was also made with a single ALMA antenna, using a technique called fast-scanning, at a wavelength of 1.25 millimetresCredit: ALMA

They were taken by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope in Chile in December 2015, with the Band 6 receiver at a wavelength of 1.25 millimetres.

Sunspots appear in regions where the Sun’s magnetic field is super concentrated and powerful.

They are lower in temperature than their surrounding regions, which is why they appear relatively dark in visible light.

A flare coming from a hole in the sun's atmosphere can whip up a strong storm which can last for days.

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The ALMA image is essentially a map of temperature differences in a layer of the Sun's atmosphere known as the chromosphere, which lies just above the visible surface of the Sun (the photosphere).

These snaps were released re part of the testing and verification campaign to make ALMA's solar observing capabilities available to the international astronomical community.


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